Decoding respirator cultures

As the global pandemic speeds up, many are wondering about the effectiveness of masks and when it’s appropriate to wear them. Most people from the East believe that wearing a mask is essential to control the spread of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). But people in the West generally would argue that, unless one is already ill, wearing a mask is simply unnecessary.
随着全球大流行加速蔓延，许多人都想要了解口罩的有效性，以及何时应该戴口罩。大多数东方人都认为戴口罩对于新冠肺炎疫情的防控至关重要。但西方人则普遍表示，除非生病了，否则戴口罩是没有必要的。

In Eastern countries like China, mask-wearing is engrained in their cultures. In fact, people in the East wear masks not just to protect themselves from illness but also for a variety of other reasons.
戴口罩在中国等东方国家的文化中根深蒂固。事实上，东方人戴口罩不仅仅是预防生病，还有种种其他原因。

In many Asian countries, masks are worn in many scenarios in daily life, such as doing housework or visiting patients in the hospital. They can give people the comfort of being protected.
在许多亚洲国家，人们在日常生活中有不少场景会戴口罩，如做家务、去医院探病等等。戴口罩让人们有种受保护的安全感。

In recent years, they are worn simply for cosmetic reasons. Young people in Japan, for example, wear masks as a fashion statement, expressing their personal style through unique designs and patterns.
近年来，很多人戴口罩仅仅是为了美观。比如，日本年轻人将戴口罩视为一种时尚，通过口罩上独一无二的设计与样式来展现自己的个人风格。

In Asia, wearing a face mask is also an outward expression of group-oriented values.
在亚洲，戴口罩也是集体主义价值观的外在表现。

With one’s face partially covered, one becomes part of a giant collectivist whole. “People communicated their responsibilities to the social group of which they were members,” wrote Peter Baehr, a research professor in social theory at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. “By disguising an individual’s face, it gave greater salience to collective identity.”
一个人遮住了部分面庞后，便成为了一个大集体的一份子。“人们与所属的社会群体共担责任，”香港岭南大学社会学研究教授彼得·贝尔如此写道。“遮面更凸显了人们的集体身份。”

In Western countries, however, individual values are the most important.
但在西方国家，个人价值是最重要的。

As a citizen, it is one’s duty to prevent the spread of illness by following proper hygienic procedures, such as washing one’s hands and limiting one’s contact with others. A face mask is reserved only for those showing symptoms of illness.
（在他们看来）作为公民，人人都有责任做好适当的卫生措施，如洗手，减少社交等，从而遏制疾病的传播。而口罩是只留给那些出现疾病症状的人戴的。

Whether from the East or the West, social culture and peer pressure have played an important role in one’s decision about whether or not to wear a mask. That’s because human beings are social creatures who take into consideration what other members of society think of us. The most important thing is to respect others’ opinions, no matter how different they are.
不论来自东方还是西方，社会文化与同辈压力都大大影响了个人是否戴口罩的决定。因为人类是社会生物，会考虑其他社会成员对于自己的看法。而最重要的是要尊重他人的选择，不论大家有多么不同。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一785期